Apparatus for cleaning and disinfecting used plastic Petri dishes
US4503873A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 9, 1983 |
| Grant date | Mar 12, 1985 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 9, 2003 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61L2/04
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Contaminated covered plastic waste material in the form of used Petri dishes, so-called agar plates, is rendered harmless and cleaned by placing the agar plates in a bacterium-tight heating chamber maintained substantially at atmospheric pressure and contacting them with water at an elevated temperature, preferably 90.degree.-98.degree. C. for a predetermined period of time. After the predetermined period the agar plates are rinsed with water which is then drained off through an outlet in the bottom of the heating chamber. The agar plates to be treated are loaded into the heating chamber in batches contained in bags wholly or partly consisting of a plastic material which is solid and substantially insoluble in water at room temperature but soluble in water at the elevated temperature. The invention makes use of a property of agar plates, namely that the dishes and/or lids warp due to internal stresses in response to the heated water to thereby open them up in the bacterium-tight heating chamber to enable internal cleaning and rinsing.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.